DSN recently had a chance to sit down and talk with Jay Lenstrom, general manager of Crossmark's Marketing Werks, an experiential and event marketing firm that helps brands pop at retail by engaging consumers on their path to purchase. Lenstrom calls what they do “engagement marketing” — creating a two-way conversation between brand and consumer. It’s a marketing arena that’s changed dramatically over the past five years and will continue to evolve in time with smartphones and social media.

Consumers were offered more than $496 billion dollars in consumer incentives through Free Standing Inserts in 2014, an increase of 6.4% compared to last year, according to a Kantar Media report released Thursday.

Estée Lauder has appointed Jane Lauder global brand president of Clinique. Succeeding Lauder will be Stephane de la Faverie, who has been named SVP, global general manager of Origins, Ojon and Darphin.

Matrix, a professional hair care and hair color company that is a subsidiary of L'Oréal USA, is aiming to transform the professional hair styling experience with a new program that features Google Glass.

Personalized medicine is on the horizon, and patients are not only awaiting it optimistically, but they also are willing to share a bit of personal information when it comes, according to a new study released Monday commissioned by Intel.

The Food and Drug Administration, in a complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, on Monday sought a permanent injunction against the dietary supplement manufacturer James G. Cole; its president, James Cole; and its general manager, Julie Graves, following the company’s repeated distribution of unapproved drugs and adulterated dietary supplements in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Cardinal Health on Tuesday announced that Tony Caprio, EVP in the Office of Customer Experience and general manager for the Healthcare IQ business partnership, will retire from the company after nearly 40 years of service to the healthcare community.

There hasn't been a lot of growth in intimacy health lately, with the exception of intimacy enhancement devices, which are up 16.5% to a relatively small $26.2 million base for the 52 weeks ended June 16, according to IRI. But there is plenty of opportunity to drive growth into the category moving forward, especially with the Millennials entering the marketplace.

Walgreens Infusion Services and Regence, an affiliation of healthcare plans in the Pacific Northwest/Mountain State region, recently entered into an agreement to help lower overall medical costs for specialty infusion patients in Idaho, Oregon, Utah and Washington, Walgreens announced.

Retailer promotion activity continued to grow with a 21.6% increase to more than 11.3 billion pages in the first half of 2013, with Walmart leading in retailer activity followed by Walgreens, Target and Family Dollar, reported Marx, a Kantar Media solution.

Perrigo on Monday announced it has kicked off a broad industry marketing and communications campaign to raise awareness for, and consumer confidence in, generic over-the-counter store-brand medications.

The Network of Executive Women on Friday named Donna Giordano, president of the Ralphs division of Kroger, and Monica Turner, general manager of market strategy and planning for Procter & Gamble, co-chairs of the NEW Executive Leaders Forum 2013.

More than 274 billion Free Standing Insert coupons were distributed in 2012, marking a 0.8% increase in activity versus 2011, as retailer promotion pages also rose by 5.2% during the year with Walmart snagging the top spot followed by Walgreens, according to Kantar Media.

iHealth Labs on Monday unveiled two new additions to its suite of devices — the iHealth Wireless Smart Gluco-Monitoring System and iHealth Pulse Oximeter — at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

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SPECIAL REPORTS

Pharmacy’s battle for recognition continues

Fifty years ago this summer, President Lyndon B. Johnson secured his place in history by signing into law the legislation that created Medicare and Medicaid. To commemorate the anniversary, Drug Store News has put together an exclusive report on the effect that Medicare and Medicaid have had on the retail pharmacy industry and how it has transformed the role of the pharmacist. more...

IN THIS ISSUE

In this issue, DSN profiles Rite Aid and how the company is achieving a vision to become a retail healthcare company that delivers a higher level of care to its communities; takes you on a tour of Sears; offers insight into millennial shoppers and more. Click here to view the issue.